The Spinnaker
THE SPINNAKER
Your Spinnaker profile, shared by around 4% of academic and professional writers, shows that you have given yourself relatively high ratings (6 or above) for your Behavioral, Artisanal, and Social habits but a low or moderate rating (5 or below) for your Emotional habits. This profile is called the Spinnaker because, like this specialized sail, you effectively capture external forces to propel forward movement yet lack a deeper internal source of power and enjoyment.
Your strengths form an impressive foundation:
You feel fairly productive as a writer, with effective routines and time management (Behavioral).
Your level of craftsmanship and skill is high, with strong technical abilities (Artisanal).
You engage in fruitful conversations with others about your writing (Social).
However, your writing brings you little or no joy. This emotional disconnection means that, despite your productivity, skill, and connections, writing may feel more like an obligation than a meaningful part of your identity and purpose.
ACTION PLAN
To broaden the BASE upon which your writing practice is built, consider deepening your emotional connection to your writing by drawing on your existing strengths:
Connect Productivity to Purpose
Reflect on where or when you write beyond external requirements and how doing so serves your deeper values.
Design writing routines that incorporate moments for reconnecting with your writing’s meaning.
Track satisfaction and fulfillment alongside more conventional productivity metrics.
Find Joy in Craft Mastery
Identify which specific aspects of writing craft you find most interesting or satisfying.
Allow yourself to experiment with style or approach occasionally, even in formal writing.
Celebrate technical achievements to build positive associations with the writing process.
Use Social Connections to Enhance Emotional Engagement
Discuss the emotional aspects of writing with trusted colleagues who enjoy the process.
Collaborate on projects that align with your interests and values beyond academic or professional requirements.
Create a community that celebrates writing milestones in meaningful, not just mechanical, ways.
Develop an Emotionally Sustainable Writing Practice
Build small moments of choice and creativity into your established writing routine.
Experiment with writing in different environments to find settings that enhance enjoyment.
Incorporate brief reflection practices that help you connect emotionally with your writing progress.
The WriteSPACE can help you with all of these things!
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
For finding pleasure in writing:
Sword, Air & Light & Time & Space, chapters 10-12.
The Creativity Catalyst and Pleasure Catalyst.